They've won twice in a row in dramatic fashion in extra innings. Tonight, the Nationals will try to win a game against the Astros in regulation, and in the process improve to 25 games over .500 for the first time.

Jayson Werth returns to the lineup after sitting out last night's game with tired legs. He'll be in right field, which should provide a little less wear and tear. Bryce Harper will be responsible for covering the spacious, treacherous and hilly center field at Minute Maid Park.

Gio Gonzalez gets the start, looking to duplicate Ross Detwiler's seven-inning outing from last night and take some pressure off a Nationals bullpen that has been extended nearly to the limit in recent days.

As you know by now, I'm not in Houston for this series. Enjoy the game and the conversation. And like me, pray the final out is recorded before the stroke of midnight for a change…

I wonder how the umpire rotation goes. I guess home plate moves to 3rd where there is probably less work after being behind the plate, and everyone just slides over one. Angel was at 1st last night so that makes sense.

I have never watched so many scoreboards before. Brewers just went ahead of the Reds in the top of the 9th. I really want the Pirates to have a winning season but I also want every team but ours to lose more then they win for the next month or so. I am not looking for that one game playoff, I want them to start with an away games vs. the wildcard which would mean we have finished with the best record in the NL.Go Nats!!

With Angel Hernandez behind the plate, memo to Gio: Be on your best behavior, come to a complete stop in a stretch, have your shoes shined to a nice buff, wear your cap straight, please tie all those loose hands on your glove, make sure you have shaved within a half-hour of first pitch, stand at full attention for the national anthem, do not step on the chalk lines, brush your teeth vertically in front, horizontally in the rear, floss carefully, make sure you have enough quarters for the parking meters and, most important of all, treat the home plate umpire with the utmost of respect.You have to. It's just a courtesy for blind people.

After Mark Carlson's performance behind the plate last night, Angel Hernandez might look like the model of consistency. I'm a union guy through and through, but even I have a hard time justifying what is essentially life tenure for umpires irrespective of talent or temperment.

Honestly, I think Angel has been somewhat better since MLB broke up him and Joe West. Probably not the most popular of opinions, but there are way worse when it comes to calling balls and strikes and especially ejections. He hasn't ejected a single person yet this season.That being said, if Gio so much as gives him a cockeyed glance after a bad call, he will probably get squeezed harder than a lime at a tiki bar.

OK, I just pounded the strike zone for a while on ESPN for the Shark. All those people in LA are going to be getting home from work, or the beach, or wherever, later on, so we probably need to build a cushion. Keep at it, Insiders.

Carlson was awful last nigh, no pitcher on either side and most batters had a clue what was going to be called.Angel Hernandez can be no worse (though he has bee bad in the past).Shark now up 8% after 2857 votes. If you haven't vote yet do so.

Gio going seven won't be much help if they have to play fourteen. Oh, and no mention yet of the fact that Gallaraga was a throw-in piece, with Wilkerson and Termell Sledge, from the Nats on the Soriano trade?

As the poet Roger Miller once sang,"it’s the code of the west:heed the word of your sisters–the code of the west,make a left turn from sin.the code of the west,keep an eye on temptation, recite the quotationthat says when Satan calls your name it doesn’t matter how you played the game ‘cause all he cares about is 'did you win?'"

Great to see the Shark pulling away in the vote. Go Insiders!Grandstander — good point about Angel and Joe. That combination was nothing but trouble. Two guys trying to impress each other with how macho they are. How were you able to find out that Angel hasn't tossed anyone this year? Is there a website that keeps track of that? Speaking of useless but fun baseball trivia, Harper's homerun trot on Saturday was the second fastest in MLB that day at 19.25 seconds. (Espi's fifth slowest at 23.54.) I just love that. Harper still has the fastest trot of the year in MLB (16.35 seconds on May 26). The kid sets records everywhere he goes.

This was a great catch *this year* but Bernadina's catch last year was by far my favorite all-out catch of all time, even after that crazy, superman year Willie Harris had in 08. I still marvel at it when I see it in the highlights.

Were there also plenty of naysayers at the time who did not properly appreciate Bernie's catch? Like, were you the only one saying it at the time? :-)Zection 3, My Zofa said…I wasn't that impressed with Trout's catch at the time, and I was the first to say so. Desmond had a better play that same day.August 08, 2012 5:46 PM

I thought Bernie's catch last night was better than the one last year. He took a bad route to that one. Plus, the game saving situation just can't be beat – -except maybe by that perfect game saving catch by the White Sox centerfielder a few years back.And let's get serious, Trout's catch was a great catch. Just not as good as the Shark's.

Interesting info from Amanda:Amanda Comak‏@acomakChien-Ming Wang's rehab assignment has been effectively ended as he's still complaining of hip soreness. He's still on the DL.Amanda Comak‏@acomakDavey said he has to stay off of Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard tonight so Edwin Jackson is in the bullpen. It's his throw day.

GYFNG! May Gio have a happy reunion, and be lights out, with Kurt. May the game be a laugher on OUR side, and another defeat for the Astro's (they can win FRIDAY!). And may Jayson's legs hold up under him, brilliantly.GYFNG!

I know, Faraz. I think they all need to get a grip. It's a fan vote on a sports network site. All those people in LA are going to be getting home from work, or the beach, or wherever, later on, so we probably need to build a cushion. Keep at it, Insiders.Typical LA fans, showing up late. 😉

This year was a loss, but the end of last season got back quite a bit of that expense, in terms of production. Boz did a piece detailing that argument, anyway, last fall I think it was. It was worth a shot–didn't pan out. Oh well. Everything that doesn't work out isn't a fail.

Happy to see Edwin Jackson in the bullpen and I'm sure he's a 'team guy,' but I think his bullpen assignment is more a function of this being his regular throwing day between starts.Separate issue: Anyone else having problems with MLB.tv?

Galarraga almost put none in the strike zone, and we managed only 1 run. We swung at least 4 balls guys. What is that all about. Make him throw strikes. A walk is a good as a single. He will walk you if you let him.

If anyone cares, the crack WJFK radio team just explained that on the sacrifice vs. balk, if Adam LaRoche had gotten a hit, the hit would have superseded the balk and Mr. LaRoche would have gotten the RBI. Since it was 'just' a sacrifice, the balk took precedence (because it also advanced the runner who was on first).

FP is not having a good game. First the phantam Suzuki/Gallarando history based on a phantom "look" that Suzuki gave him. Then the ridiculous "taking one for the team" as if ALR cares about 1 RBI vs the chance for a big inning, and then forgetting about Zim's 30 game hitting streak (if he ever knew about it), speculating that the longest hitting streaks in the teams history were by Vlad or Vidro "at least in the 20s." Carp is trying not to show him up as he corrects him, but having a tough time.

Again harper called out on a ball outside the stike zone. The major leagues only need about 72 guys toumpire and we cannot find 72 good umpires in America? I find it shocking because about 50% are so inconsistent and have no clue how to call a strike, and MLB has no understanding that there is a problem in this area. It is fairly easy to fix if they wanted to.

Unbelieveable. Surprising that Angel hasn't tossed Harper, which would make this completely absurd. Took alot of restraint for Harper not to just go after him. Maybe that bat slamming incident in Miami was good for him.

Speaking of "put it back in your pocket"–Hernandez isn't going anywhere, and he isn't getting in any trouble for a crappy strike zone, or ringing up a rookie. Just ain't happening. Gio's response to Suzuki getting drilled is how you have to approach this. Davey getting tossed is entertaining, but won't accomplish anything whatsoever as far as improving this guy's umpiring.

Mr. Hernandez's father certainly lacked insight or creativity when naming his son. "Hmm, let's name him, Angel…"I heard a story by Dizzy Dean about how he was actually a good runner, like Edwin Jackson and how one game he made a great slide into third but was erroneously called out by the ump. Diz went nuts and turned to the ump, who told him, "Diz, that was the best slide that I ever saw by a pitcher. You did everything right. The throw beat you by such a tiny margin that I almost called it the other way. Great running."Dizzy went off the field so proud of his running that he was surprised when the dugout told him that it was the worst call they ever saw and wanted to know why he didn't argue harder….

I am not sure, but I have to believe the nats catchers as a whole have to have among the lowest batting average as agroup of any collection in the majors. But they make up for it by not throwing anyone out either. Not sure how we are in wild pitches and pass balls but not too good.So far Suzuki has done nothing at the plate except the goofy bunt to improess me, and guys are on base for him.

Great teams overcome evil umpires. This is a great lesson in patience, hopefully Angel will be eliminated soon from the game. Baseball should be about the game, not some umpire with an attitude. Go Nats! We shall overcome! 😉

the nakor leahues has like 15 or 17 teams of umpires. that is a total of 72 people. OF the 72 I would say 35-40 are terrible. Are you telling me in all the world we cannot find 72 good men and women who have good eyesight and judgement to call baseball games. It can't be that hard. We're a county of about 150 million working adults. Sure we can find 72 real good umpires.In any game they can be bad for us or against us. I want neither I want good umpiring.

I think even Gio is furious with Hernandez. He stormed off at the end of the 6th after making that great catch, and was scowling through the 7th and he mowed everyone down. I kind of like the Angry Gio…

William O. Douglas Loeffler said… I remember in a baseball movie that they claimed that there was one phrase that automatically will get any player, coach or manager kicked out of a game."Clown call, bro?"

Hernandez only called the walk because no one was on. None of the 4 pitches were close, but then again 5 of the previous 6 weren't eitherAll I want is 72 good men or wome to umpire is that asking to much. I don't want them cheating for me or against me. A wrong call is not cheating. More than a few becomes cheating. hernandez has had more than a few this game.TOrre doesn't care anymore with his cushy job. I wah hoping he would clean the game up, but he refuses too.DFA a bunch of the umps.

Just in case you were wondering: No, it's not a meritocracy.From MLB"Special Event selectionASSIGNMENTAll major league umpires are eligible to work any Special Event. The Office of the Commissioner shall have absolute and exclusive discretion in the assignment of umpires to work Special Events. There shall be no restriction on the number of Special Events to which an umpire may be assigned to work in any given year, provided however that an umpire shall not work back-to-back Special Event series (excluding the All-Star Game) and, an umpire shall not work consecutive World Series.NOTIFICATIONUmpires assigned to work the Mid-Summer Classic shall be notified of their assignment not less than 30 days prior to the game. Umpires assigned to work the Division Series shall be notified of their assignment on the next to last Saturday of the regular season. Umpires assigned to work the League Championship Series shall be notified of their assignment on the last Saturday of the regular season. Umpires assigned to work the World Series shall be notified of their assignment on the day after the end of the last Division Series.ROTATIONSix (6) umpires shall be assigned to work each Special Event. Rotation of umpiring positions on the field will be followed in any Special Event that is a series. The Office of the Commissioner shall determine the initial position of each umpire in such series."

You know, if all the Nats hitters were hot, and driving in all these runners, the Nats would have a big lead and….We would all be on here worried that there's no way they could sustain this type of play for 2.5 more months….That's what's great about baseball, there's always reason for angst AND hope….Enjoy the ride folks, this is the FUN part…

Sunshine_Bobby_Carpenter_Is_Too_Pessimistic_For_Me said… William O. Douglas Loeffler said… I remember in a baseball movie that they claimed that there was one phrase that automatically will get any player, coach or manager kicked out of a game. "Clown call, bro?"I like that! Behold the new phrase to get automatically kicked out of a game and it is so much less homophobic….

Another great save by ALR on that throw. Way to go Gio, way to save the bullpen, and win your own game with a HR. Fantastic.Zofa — on umpire selection for post season, just because the Commish has complete discretion doesn't mean the selection isn't made on merit. My friend who went to umpire school and who has several friends who are MLB umps says the best are chosen. Angel won't be there, nor will Laz.

222, I know they cleaned it up some after 2009, but I was reacting to the rule that no umpire may work consecutive World Series. Not that there aren't 12 good umps–there are–but that's what I was thinking of, mainly.

222, no, I wasn't. Ballplayers have their own code. Guy has perfect control and suddenly walks Harper on four pitches that even Hernandez couldn't call strikes? Might as well have held up the four fingers.

I heard Edwin on the 980 the Team today and, let me tell you, we should enjoy this team. This is a rare group of guys. We don't have a single great player and yet somehow, we have the best record in the major leagues.No, we don't have a single great player. No one on our team has an OBP the last time I checked of .350 (which is decent buy not great–check out Eddie Yost's numbers from the 50's Nats) or over. None of our hitters leads or comes close to leading in any major category. We have, perhaps, two great fielders in Zimmerman and Bernadina, when he is in. La Roche is a very good fielder and Werth and Harper are good fielders, but not quite Cesar Geronimo's, yet.Our relievers are quite competent, but obviously far from overpowering. Who do we resemble? The 1969 Mets, although they did in fact have a great pitcher in Tom Seaver, and Jerry Koosman was probably better than anyone we have. They also had Nolan Ryan, who I regard as overrated (and a jerk) both on that team and in general, and Gary Gentry. Our staff may be better than that Mets staff, but that Mets staff was further along in 1969 than ours is. Koosman and Seaver were already more than established in 1969. Except for Gio and Jackson, who is a bit of an accomplished joureyman, our guys are still up and coming.The 1969 Mets had a whole host of guys who had career years in 1969 and somehow it happened for them, even though their pythagorean numbers were actually lower than those of the Cubs and close to 20 games lower than the far superior team that they upset in the World Series. In 7 games anything can happen.I wouldn't write this year off for the future because nothing is guaranteed. The 1969 Mets won 100 games and counting the post-season, went 107 and 63. The Mets wouldn't win 100 games again with that core and except for a fluke win over the Reds in 1973 when the Mets won 83 games in the regular season, the Mets never came close to making the World Series again.

So much to celebrate in this game! Not remotely a laugher, unless you count the bogus and bad calls by Angel Hernandez. Would have been that much better if the freakin' Phillies had won, too. But WE did! Go Nats! 'nite friends!

NL — Don't be patronizing. I know there's a lot going on below the surface, but it doesn't include giving makeup calls or otherwise not trying to get someone out. What if Harper had come around to score and the Stros ended up losing by 1 run? We're talking Black Sox type scandal here.

So I just got back to my hotel room, started checking posts and the MLB recap. Wow. So Gio went nine AND hit a homer? Sounds like Angel was the devil. Two balks and a punch out to Bryce that was actually a "message"? That about right? How did Zim look? Power? Weak? Sounds crazy. This trip to Houston his been nutty. Go Nats! Any win is a good win.

Swami, Zim looked OK, solid hits. Gio got mad. I think Bernie misplayed a ball in the 9th, but Carp and FP didn't come right out and say that, and I didn't see the route he took. Harper threw to 3rd trying to be a hero so the winning run took 2nd. Gio was tough, man, was he tough. He picked up Bernie and Harper, not to mention the entire bullpen. The walk to Harper cost the Astros .7% on their Win Expectancy. They went from 15.8% chance to win to 15.1% chance to win.

swami,One additional point to add to NatLady's quick wrap-up of the 9th: Not only did Mr. Harper throw to third rather than first, but he threw waaaayyyy off-line. Ryan Zimmerman couldn't get it and it would likely have been a run scored except that Gio was backing up the play perfectly. Gio deserves a lot (maybe even all) of the credit for that game — pitching, hitting, fielding. And he was on a mission in the 7th and 8th; focused and firing.

Ok fine, it's not the Black Sox scandal because a gangster wasn't paying them off. But I simply don't believe that a team would walk someone in a tight game as a supposed payback for a bad call made by an ump in a previous at bat. I sure hope the Nats won't ever risk losing a game over such misplaced "sportsmanship."

Just watched the postgame. Harper gets day off tomorrow. Davey didn't mince words about how bad that ill-advised throw to third was. Rookie mistake. Baseball 101. "That's not a mistake you need to be making when you're in a pennant race." I sure wish someone would tell Davey how to pronounce Stammen's name.Most important, that's quite a haircut Gio got.Braves can't pick up a game on us no matter how hard they try. I love it!

222, I'm not trying to be patronizing, but you are missing the point. It only had a little to do with Harper and a lot to do with the players sending a message that it is not the umpire's privilege to affect the result of a game in order to teach lessons or whatever. Players are supposed to suck it up when bad calls go against them–and assume it will even out–but there is a limit. If Colbert hits Bryce Harper to be "old school", that isn't free. It has a risk, however small, that it could impact the game. (As, in fact, it did). If umpires decide to teach Bryce Harper a lesson, it is essentially risk-free. No consequences–or at least none that impact the game. And that isn't fair. Is it misplayed "sportsmanship" for the players to want the game to be officiated fairly?

William O. Douglas Loeffler:I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane regarding those '69 Mets. All through August, I kept thinking that while the Mets were playing really well, there was no chance–none–that they would overtake the Cubs, who were having an amazing season (and who I think had one of the the better infields in my lifetime, Ernie Banks, Don Kessinger, Ron Santo and Glen Beckert & Randy Hundley).But sometime in September, they played the Cubbies, swept them (or close to sweeping) and they pulled past them and never looked back.I loved Tommy Agee and Cleon Jones and without Gary Gentry, there rotation would not have been deep enough to win the pennant. That next spring, Channel 9 had a Senators' special just before spring training was over. Mike Epstein was interviewed as well as Bob (Rot in Hell) Short. I'll never forget his words. "I see no reason why we can't have a Mets-type season here in Washington in 1970."Didn't work out and they were gone two years later.Sorry youngsters for the old-fogy rant. That was a special year, both for the Senators and for the Mets. Farid @ Idaho

Not sure I expressed that clearly. The umpires can "teach Bryce a lesson" and by so doing affect the result of the game, but they are not players on the winning (or losing) team. So they influence the result of the game for non-game-related reasons–and yet there is no impact on them. When players deliberately sabatoge the game (like Colbert) they assume risk. Umpires don't.

Hernandez looked geeked up on sudafed or red bull to me- eyes, face, over-alert, itchy. He wasn't focused. I'm surprise he didn't toss Bryce, and so is Davey. They were bad calls, but they weren't all that bad. In You're Out and You're Ugly Too Durwood Merrill admitted that once he'd called a strike and the batter took the same pitch, he'd call it again and say, "The folks didn't buy a ticket to watch you stand here with your bat on your shoulder!" I've seen Bryce chase, and never see another pitch to hit for five at bats in a row, but maybe he should be less fine and protect the plate when the ump's calling a big zone. Try to foul off 10 in a row. It's harder to do than it is to write. Ron Washington said of Hernandez:"Angel's just bad. That's all there is to it." http://deadspin.com/5906057/better-know-an-umpire-angel-hernandez

The real pproblem with umpires is they are not really ever called accountable by anyone. Not the media not MLB. No one. I guess that is why I love Hawk Harrelson he doesn't mixed words he tells you exactly what he thinks of the umpires. Though Iwish he would interview them and tell them that, but at least he says it. Most of the media is too professional just to call them out, and MLB for some reason thinks they have to protect them from the media. If they are doing their job there is nothing to protect.What I would love to do is sit through a game one time with an umpire,and every time I am pissed at one, they can tell me why I am wrong. I believe they wouldn't have the nerve to sit with people like that because the whole batch is not as good at their profession and the players are at theirs.All we ask for out of 150-175 million working Americans 72 good umpires (ane we get about 40-50 at most). It just can't be that hard. I watch 2-3 games a day, and I know it can't be that hard.Weren't too many bad calls in the Dodger's game. A couple border line high pitches called balls, that I might have called a strike. Please remind me to take my Malaax before the game when Angel is at the plate again (I started doing that with Joe West and Laz Diaz and that has helped.

Hopefully these links will work. From Amanda C: Here are Bryce Harper's plots tonight. The 4th inn K he argued And the 6th inn he started to 1B.In my view, the pitch is the 4th was a horrible call (particularly after the third pitch of the AB was called a ball). But the calls in the 6th, while wrong, were not terrible. I think Bryce's reaction, and most of ours for that matter, was influenced by how bad the call was in the 4th.

NL — Still not buying it. Who decided to throw obvious balls? The pitcher on his own? The catcher and the pitcher? Was the manager consulted? Is there some unwritten rule that when there's an obvious bad call the pitcher can take it in his own hands to send the umpires a message? It's just not plausible and, in fact, it's kind of insulting to the Astros players. Do you think every player on the field with the Astros would agree with putting a runner on base ahead of our best power hitters in a close game? Not a chance. So who gets to decide what the appropriate way to send the message is? According to Kilgore, ALR asked Angel about the calls. Not only did he say the pitches were strikes (and the plot shows he wasn't that far off on the 6th inning pitches), but he assured ALR that he would never make bad calls to "initiate" Bryce. Even said he loves the way Bryce plays.

Ted Williams and the Nats deserve a series of WaPo articles. The Sixty-Nine Mets are the exception to the over-exposure rule of NY sports. They truly were a delight and to think that the Jets had a similar tale and both got a bit of payback against Balmer for fifty-eight and fifty-nine and the Colts is pretty interesting. Wayne Garrett where are you now?

And by the way, the Rangers and the Padres both have the curse of Bob Short around their necks. In the history of MLB there are three expansion teams that are truly cursed, the Expos, the Rangers and the Padres. The Expos have expiated their sins by moving to DC.

There have been a number of series, weeks where we have said – this is it, this is the tough one. This series has been so strange and seemingly challenging. Like they hit a wall. It happens when it happens. Weird park, empty stadium, let down affter a big weekend.i guess we should be grateful it came against a team we could survive and win the series despite the struggles. Espi, Bernie, Gio with the bat. Unlikely heroes again.